March for Life

January26,2014

by Father Jack Shrum

Dear friends,

I headed down to the Capital last Tuesday with a few thousand others to pray for the respect of life at all stages and especially for the end of abortion on the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade when abortion was decriminalized in our country. It was a beautiful day and it was the largest crowd I have ever seen at the March for Life in the years that I have been attending.

The day started with Mass with Archbishop Sartain at St. Martin’s University. The Mass is held in the arena where they play basketball, and this year we nearly filled it up. There were people there from all over the Archdiocese. It is great to see so many young families and many of our Catholic school students there. We had a pretty good contingent from St. Andrew. In one of the photos that were taken by the Olympian newspaper, many from St. Andrew are visible, including myself. While other St. Andrew parishioners are easily visible, I am a bit hidden so it would be interesting to see how long it might take to “find Father.”

As always we go from Mass to the Capital in Olympia and then march to the steps of the Capital Building. Then there is a program of prayer and all of the pro life senators and representatives that are able speak to the crowd. This year the testimony that was most encouraging was of a representative (whose name I cannot remember). It was his first time to attend the March for Life. Until last year he had been on the other side of the issue. While a man of faith, he said he believed everyone had a right to freely choose abortion. Then, when he was diagnosed with stage four cancer things changed. He came to know how precious life is as he was fighting for his and through prayer was drawn deeper into the life of God. Shortly then the bill came to the legislature to fund abortion for all, and moved by his new found love and respect for the gift of life, as a Democrat, he voted against it.

As I heard him speak I was moved by the authenticity of his encounter. This is how it happens. Our conversion is not one of an other worldly experience, rather it is rooted in the incarnation and the encounter with Christ here now in this life. This is the Good News that the Kingdom is at hand right here and right now, that many come to know in the time of crisis and suffering as God is with us through it all. He is Emmanuel, and as He said, “I will be with you always, until the end of the age.” God is especially fond of the little ones, those who are suffering, and those looked down upon by society. God wants to impart that love to each of us as we encounter Him in the little ones.

When faced with our own mortality, that we are going to die, it changes things. That is why St. Benedict said in his Rule, “Keep death daily before your eyes.” As we do, we come to know how precious is the life that has been given to us. How precious is the life of the infant, and that of the elderly in its last stages. Think about your life and how precious is each moment. Make the most of the time you have, as we never know when the Lord will come for us. The more we come to know the wonderful gift that has been given to us, the more we will enjoy each moment as a gift from God. I encourage you to spend some time reflecting on your life and your relationship with God. This is always fruitful. As you do, if there is any fear, resentment, anger, jealousy, anything taking away your peace, get rid of it. Take it to the Lord in Confession and reconcile yourself with your loved ones. Fear is what has led millions to take the life of their beautiful babies and it takes away the beauty, peace, and joy of our everyday lives. How much different would our country be if the 55 million of our brothers and sisters who have been aborted were with us? How much beauty are we missing out on? I invite you to join me for a Holy Hour tomorrow/tonight (Sunday Jan. 26) at 7:30 to give thanks for the gift of life and pray for the end of abortion and the violence that takes so many beautiful lives from us each day.